How To Store Rose Hips Correctly

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

A lot has been written and said about the beneficial properties of bright rose hips. Dry fruits of this handsome man can always be purchased in a store or in a pharmacy. And some of us were lucky enough to grow adorable rose hips on our own plot. It's just that after harvesting spectacular berries, many have no idea what to do with them next. But you really want to saturate the body with vitamins throughout the long winter! How can you keep healthy rose hips?

When to collect?

Ripe rose hips are harvested from late July until October, trying to pick only undamaged and ripe fruits. All of them should have a juicy orange or bright red color, but still be quite firm.

In order not to lose some of the vitamins contained in the rosehip, all the fruits must be harvested before the onset of the first frost.

How to dry?

Drying of rose hips ideally begins immediately after they are harvested. Those who are lucky enough to live in houses with Russian stoves can easily dry ripe fruits in the classical way - in an oven heated to eighty to ninety degrees. You can also dry the rose hips in the attic: as a rule, these rooms are perfectly ventilated and reliably protected from direct sunlight, and these are the main conditions for the successful drying of the rose hips.

Another great option is to dry the rose hips in a special electric dryer. True, modern dryers hold a much smaller amount of fruit than a Russian stove.

And the most optimal way to dry rose hips in the conditions of modern city apartments is, of course, drying fruits in the oven. Moreover, both gas and electric ovens are equally good for this. The smallest loss of raw materials and the achievement of the desired results in the shortest possible time - these are the main advantages of this option.

To dry the rosehip in the oven, it is thoroughly sorted out, immediately rejecting all damaged and spoiled fruits. Then they are placed on a baking sheet in a low, even layer and placed in an oven preheated to forty to sixty degrees. There the rose hips are dried for about seven to eight hours, periodically turning over and shaking the drying fruits. And so that the moisture formed during the drying process can evaporate freely, the oven door is not completely closed.

Dried and still hot fruits are placed in hermetically sealed boxes made of cardboard or wood - to achieve the required condition, the rose hips need to "sweat" for two to three days. Only after this time, sepals are cut off from dry fruits, after which they are placed for permanent storage.

How to store?

It is advisable to store dried rosehips in well-ventilated containers - this will help protect it from premature damage. Cloth bags are ideal for this. In principle, you can store rose hips in glass jars, but in this case, all jars must be closed with plastic lids with small holes made in them or with clean three-layer gauze - the stored fruits must breathe.

Containers with dried fruits are placed in dark places - this approach will protect them from extraneous odors and from extremely undesirable loss of vitamins. Rosehip stored in this form does not lose its beneficial properties for two years.

How to store fresh rose hips?

It is quite possible to keep the bright rose hips fresh. To do this, freshly picked rose hips are cleaned of stalks and seeds, after which they are crushed to a puree state, laid out in plastic containers or sachets and sent to the freezer. In the freezer, the rose hips are perfectly preserved throughout the year.